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52
therefore diminishes in quantity, thereby making the percentage of fat
calculated on the dry matter increase. The shopkeepers did not think the
cheese had been kept on their shelves for a long period.
A portion of cooked chicken was examined on account of a metallic
taste. The iron and lead contents were more or less normal. The
flavour was found to be associated more with the fat than with the lean
meat and the free fatty acids on the fat were very high, 5.2 per cent
calculated as oleic acid. There was no doubt therefore that the flavour
was caused through the rancidity of the fat, and your analyst considered
that the chicken must have been kept for a long time in a refrigerator.
Although the suppliers' expert adviser agreed with this, they themselves
did not think the bird could have been kept by them for any appreciable
length of time.
A jar of Chicken in Chicken Jelly was submitted for examination
because the purchaser complained about the appearance and taste. The
appearance was considered to be satisfactory, but the product possessed
a "kerosene" flavour associated more especially with the jelly than with
the meat. The manufacturers stated that this was the first complaint of
this nature they had had. The same purchaser also complained of the
taste of some Calves Foot Jelly. This sample possessed a "gluey" flavour
the jelly was limp and rather dark in colour. The product had been
manufactured some five years previously when it may have been difficult for
the manufacturers to obtain a good supply of bones.
A sample of canned Pork Luncheon Meat contained only 80 per cent of
meat and was therefore 11 per cent deficient in meat. The manufacturers
stated that the recipe for this product included 90 per cent of pork, but
later confirmed that the pack was manufactured in 1952 and did in fact
only contain 80 per cent.
A sample submitted as Chopped Ham contained 6 per cent of starch
filler whereas chopped ham should contain no starch binding material.
Although sold as chopped ham the sample was in fact obtained from a tin
clearly labelled "Pork Luncheon Meat".
Some minced meat contained pieces of fur and bristle, probably derived
from the cheek of an ox, indicating careless handling in the slaughterhouse.
A purchaser complained that a sample of Salami was rancid. This
sample was therefore examined in parallel with several other varieties of
salami. The results of the investigation showed that the free fatty acids
on the fat of the complaint sample calculated as oleic acid, were 17 per
cent and that this figure was only slightly higher than in the other samples.
In view of the small size of the excess, however, your analyst considered
that the disagreeable flavour was not due primarily to rancidity, but to
lack of flavouring and spices.
A sample of park sausage meat contained only 49 per cent of meat and
was therefore 23 per cent deficient in this ingredient. Another sample of
pork sausages contained only 53 per cent of meat and was therefore 18 per
cent deficient. Pork sausages must contain not less than 65 per cent of
meat.